Wouter Weylandt Part 2

Here is a tiny follow-up to Part 1.
I got my awesome Road ID in the mail today and absolutely love it. Road ID is donating all proceeds of these bands to Wouter Weylandt's family. If you would like to order one or make a donation to the family, please go to Road ID.
You will also get a nifty little keepsake box. =)
For those of you who aren't familiar with Road ID, I urge you to look at their website. They carry various bands that you can customize with your contact information. This is especially great for athletes because there may come a time where you will need help and you are unable to speak for yourself. Whether you are a cyclist that has been run off the road or a runner that has collapsed, your ID will speak for you. Personally I think these are great for children too, in case they get lost. You can either choose to have the information imprinted on the metal plate OR you can make it available online or over the phone. The band will just show the website and a 1-800 number that people can call to get the information....this is great in case you aren't comfortable to with everyone seeing your personal info.

If you are interested in ordering in the next 28 days or so, you can use this coupon code to save $1 on your order: ThanksVikki5704390.

Wouter Weylandt Part 1

Honestly, I can't quite explain why I have been so affected by the tragic accident that happened in Stage 3 at the Giro D'Italia this past Monday. I am feeling saddened and heart-broken for the family and friends of Wouter Weylandt. Sorry and full of sorrow at this life that was cut short so unexpectedly. I have been following cycling for over a decade and there have been losses before this one, but for some reason this one has touched me much deeper.

I have been moved by the out-pouring of love and support that everyone in the cycling community has had for the family, friends and teammates of Wouter. Through this time of mourning one is able to see the raw emotion that people are feeling, which has been heart-wrenching. The tribute ride during Stage 4 was difficult to watch because of emotion that was felt as you watched, from the Bugle playing to that image of Team Leopard and Tyler Farrar crossing the finish line together. Seeing Tyler's face at that moment just broke my heart and wrecked me.

It doesn't make sense because I am simply a fan. I am not related, have never met him and did not follow his career as closely as I have followed other riders. Why does his death seem to tug at my heart-strings and bring me to tears so easily?

The only explanation I can think of is the sense of family that cycling seems to have. I have met fellow fans both in person and over the internet. I have also had the wonderful opportunity to meet several riders, which has been amazing! In the US it's kind of like our own special club because there aren't as many fans as say....basketball or American Football.

I do think that social media, such as Twitter and Facebook have enabled me to form my own group of friends who understand my need to follow this sport. That overwhelming need to wake up at insane hours to watch a race online or read race reports as reported by teams and riders on Twitter. Giggling as I read Tweets that riders make to each other and seeing the respect and support that they have for one another. Twitter has made the riders much more accessible, including pictures of some pretty harsh injuries, road rash and surgeries. Ya gotta love it!

I'm not quite sure why I'm even writing this but....there it is.
RIP Wouter Weylandt. Love and hugs to all those that knew him and to anyone else who has been affected by his death.

My Team RadioShack Goodies

Here are a few pictures of the Team RadioShack Goodies that I received from my friends a little over a month ago. I have AMAZING friends!

It all started when Team RadioShack posted that they were having a team signing at Mellow Johnny's in Austin, TX. Six riders from the team were going to be there AND they were going to be giving away a special gift to the first 28 people in line! WHAT ?!?! So....the wheels started spinning and stopped on Greg. Greg is the one person I know who lives in Austin. Thankfully I have known him since 1987 and I knew I could ask him for this huge favor. I wasn't positive he would be able to and wasn't sure if he would be willing because he isn't a crazed cycling fan, like myself. Luckily he is a wonderful and willing friend. He actually had a birthday party that he needed to go to but decided to stop by early to see if there was already a line. When he got there they were handing out tickets to people and he got a ticket....a GREAT ticket.....one that was low enough to get this mystery gift. YES!!!

So, Greg was able to get a "28" jersey signed for me AND the gift signed too. What was the gift? It was a "28" podium cap that they team wore in the Tour de France. SO COOL! SO, only the team has them and 27 other people. WAHOOOOO!

In case you were wondering which riders were at the signing:
Jani Brajkovic
Markel Irizar
Ben King
Jason McCartney
Yaroslav Popovych
Bjorn Selander

Amazingly enough, I got a few more goodies. My friend, Char, whom I met back in the Team Discovery Days on the message boards, was also in Austin that weekend. She grabbed me a couple of goodies also. Thanks Char! I love them! She sent me a poster and a Livestrong Handkerchief. =)

Birthday Goodies

Here are the belated pictures from my belated birthday. This year I was sick and couldn't really celebrate my birthday until the following weekend. The cake was YUMMY and Vegan. Gotta love Whole Foods. Hopefully there will be one near Branson someday. Adam picked this one up when he was in Tulsa.
My brother already got me the awesome jersey for my birthday that I blogged about earlier. He surprised me with yet another gift....a Tour de France Jersey and keychain. WAHOOO. I have the best big bro!
Kahlan is a cycling fan too. =)
I finally decided on a Nook as my eReader. It has taken me quite a while to come to this conclusion and so far I am happy with my decision. Even better....my parents got it for me as a gift. =) The one that was initially sent was defective and we had to exchange it. So far this one seems to be working fine. At the moment I am just trying to figure out which of my previously purchased books will work on it. I'll post more about the Nook after I have had a chance to play around on it more.

Chechu Rubiera Signed card

I got a nice little surprise in the mail today. A signed card. Wahooooo. On the other side it is labeled #8 ( out of 50). I love mail!

My New Jersey

Here is the picture of the jersey my brother got for me at the Tour of California. Wahoooo!!! Once again, thanks to my friend who helped him out. Now I just have to get this one framed as nicely as the GORGEOUS Liquigas Jersey that I posted earlier.

Now I have TWO jersies with Team Liquigas signatures. This time I have a nice little birthday message from them AND my name is spelled correctly.

Francesco Bellotti
Davide Cimolai
Manuel Quinziato
Peter Sagan
Ivan Santaromita
Brian Vandborg

Thanks again for my early birthday gift! I'll post pictures when I get it framed. =)

My brother rocks!

Once again the Tour of California is here and....once again I am in Branson doing shows. This year the individual time trial in in Los Angeles at the Staples Center. I can't even begin to imagine how insane the crowds must be out there today! They are expecting around 25, 000 spectators today. Wowza! Way more than the crowds we had during the Tour of Missouri ITT a few years back.

That being said, I sent my brother into the lion's den. Poor guy....but awesome guy!

I know what I'm getting for my birthday this year! He bought me a ToC yellow jersey and has already gotten it signed by the Liquigas Riders. Wahooooo! Go Team Lime! Oh....and my name is even spelled right this time. TeeHee

Can't wait to see the jersey in person. Maybe I'll get it before my birthday comes around. If not, I can wait the 6 weeks. Wahoooo. SO excited!

Love you bro!

Turning 36...eek!

Once again I have fallen behind on my blog. Seriously though, are you really that surprised?
Time for a little backtracking.

My 36th b-day was on Saturday , July 11th. That particular day was great, though the rest of the weekend...not so much. The day started with Adam making me breakfast in bed....scrambled eggs with zucchini from our garden AND whole wheat pancakes. Yummmm. A plate was broken in the process but hey, the food was still great.


Later that day we got lunch at the Chateau on the Lake and some dessert. YUM on the chocolate mousse cake and chocolates!!!

One of my favorite gifts was from my brother's family. They sent me an Official Tour de France Souvenir Musette bag full of goodies. Being the Cycling Geek that I am I LOVED it! At first I couldn't figure out why I was getting a package from France. LOL
Of COURSE I had to attempt to put everything on all at once for a photo. =)


As for the rest of the weekend, I got sick the next night...BOO! Stomach flu again. Second time in three weeks. Argg. Not cool. At the moment I'm fighting off something again. This year has been the year for getting sick. There are 6 people in my family are/were sick over the past 4 days. Yikes! Hopefully everyone will get healthy soon so we can enjoy the rest of the summer!

Object of Joy Part 2

I forgot to post a picture of my Object of Joy in its new frame. It looks AMAZING in person!!
Now I need to work on framing all of my other cycling goodies, however, I think this one is going to be my favorite for a VERY long time! It's final resting place will be downstairs in our workout room. Granted, we still need to finish that room so....it's still in the great room upstairs. It's nice being able to see it as I leave the house everyday.

Object of Joy Part 1

Today I received my new object of joy, this BEAUTIFUL signed jersey. For those of you that aren't familiar with Liquigas, it's a cycling team from Italy. This jersey was signed while at the Tour of California this year. The riders on the team were: Ivan Basso, Kjell Carlstrom, Francesco Chicchi, Daniel Oss, Jacopo Guarnieri, Vincenzo Nibali, Brian Vandborg, and Alessandro Vanotti. Thanks to Rory for helping me out on this one.

I was pretty bummed that once again, I would be missing the Tour of California. Of course they started the ToC AFTER I moved. What's up with that? I was even more disappointed because a few days before the ToC started, I found out that the Tour of Missouri isn't going through Branson this year. BOOO I don't get to help organize the Branson leg of the ToM, the thing I have looked forward to for the past two years. That also means I don't get to see the riders/teams AND that my trying to learn Italian is pointless (seeing as there aren't any Italians out here).

The ToC was a great race this year. The crowds were INSANE! I suppose part of me was a little relieved that I didn't have to deal with those crowds. I don't like when people walk right through me...it tends to tick me off. I loved watching it on the VS channel each day and reading the different blogs and seeing the pictures. It helped me keep up with things and I didn't feel like I was missing as much, or so I kept telling myself.

That being said, the jersey wipes all of my complaining away. =) Now I just need to figure out a good way to frame it. I have found a few great ideas but they are pretty spendy.

Here's a pic with me wearing it. YEP, I know it's a tad huge but that's ok....I won't be wearing it, just framing it. Wahooo

Tour of Missouri Rankings article

I just came across an article on uscyclingreport.com and thought I would paste part of it here:

After only two years of operations the Tour of Missouri was recently promoted to international cycling’s big leagues. The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) has announced that next year’s week-long, 600-mile race across the Show Me state will be run under the sport’s highest rating, 2HC, which awards premium international competition points to winners.
“For the Tour of Missouri to become HC category means it has attained the highest ranking it can get in the U.S.,” said Andy Lee, a spokesman for the European-based UCI’s American affiliate USA Cycling.

Lee said the upgrade should attract more attention from fans, the international media and top international competitors.

“Missouri has made a name for itself,” said Chris Aronhalt, managing partner of Atlanta-based Medalist Sports the Missouri race owner that also owns the top rated Amgen Tour of California and the Tour de Georgia which are the only other 2HC-rated races among 39 sanctioned events scheduled through 2009 in the Western Hemisphere.

Rankings Bump

Today we had our wrap-up meeting on the Tour of Missouri. It was the last meeting of the year and we received great news about the Tour. Out ranking was bumped up to a 2.HC...Wahooo!!! This means that we are now part of the trifecta officially. The Tour de Georgia, Tour of California and the Tour of Missouri are the highest ranking Tours in the states. YES!

According to the VS. channel, the Tour of Missouri is the fastest growing Tour in the states. Not too shabby for only being in its second year. Hopefully it will continue to grow in popularity and we can keep getting those sponsors.

Tour of Missouri 2008

FINALLY...I'm up to date on Tour stuff. OK...so this year's Tour = fun, fun, fun! For the second year I was chairman of the Ancillary Events and planned activities again. This year the bike safety rodeo was held at Celebration City. The park was very generous and allowed all of the kids that brought their bikes to get into the park for free. The Taney County Fire Department also came out to help. SO...all in all, it went fairly well. Granted, for the second year in a row...it rained that day, thus lowering our attendance. Did I mention that it rained LAST year also?

The night before the race we had our VIP night at the Landing on a boat. Great food and friends! After the party everyone worked their way over to the stage area where we were having a block party. We had live music playing by the fountains and plenty of people listening. The cyclists stay at the Hilton, which is right on the Landing, and some of them started to filter towards the music. Most of them eventually wind up at Waxy O'Sheas, an Irish Pub near the Hilton. SO....anticipating that, my friends and I started at the music and then made our way to the Pub to mingle with everyone. On the way to the pub we ran into most of the Liquigas Team. COOL!

Of course, a picture was taken.

I suppose I should interrupt my blogging and explain why I said "COOL" about meeting the Liquigas Team. They were the Team that I was pulling for this year. I had been a HUGE Discovery Team fan for years, hence my stalking of their bus last year. After the team ended, a lot of the riders went to Team Astana, along with Johan. Naturally I followed along to Astana along with some of my other friends. George went to Team Columbia so I kept tabs on that too. Well....this year Astana didn't participate in the Tour of Missouri so I decided to pick another Team to follow. In addition to all of the US Teams, there were a few European teams that weren't here last year. I liked a few riders on the Liquigas Team (Italian) already so I decided to support them. Granted, I only recognized a few of the names of the team that they sent to the ToM but hey, they were still Liquigas. SO.....that is how I decided on "my team" this year.

OK, back to the Pub. It was a blast! Steve, a preivious drummer from our show, was playing in the band that night. I only planned to stay for about an hour because I had to get up really early to help set things up for the trike race and the TT. While we were sitting at our table Mark Cavendish, from Team Columbia, walked in. He had won a couple stages already and is inhumanly fast on that bike. Seriously one of the fastest men in the world. My friends kept teasing me (and double dog daring me...are we in grade school?) to get a picture taken with him but I didn't want to bug him since he was with his friends. I was literally almost shoved out the door to the patio where he sat . I was laughing ( and embarrassed) when I looked over to a the table across from us. There sat 3 of the Liquigas riders that we took our picture with. They nodded their heads and raised their bottles to me and then....I left. LOL I was embarrassed enough and figured it was time to go anyway. OH yeah, and I also don't speak Italian.

Branson was again the stage with the Time Trial Course. The tour organisers wanted us to keep the same course because it went over so well the year before. Before the TT we had the Trike Race again but, instead of celebrities, we used mascots from around the area. After the trike race I was off to see if I could find Debbie at the Columbia bus. When I got to the parking lot I couldn't find her so I walked around and saw Rory Sutherland and decided to get his picture. He writes a witty blog when he races and I always make sure I read the new posts to get a chuckle. After that I tried to find the Liquigas bus. To my disappointment I couldn't find it. I was a bit confused because I thought they would all be in the same parking lot. Eventually I saw a few riders and then saw 2 men with team shirts talking to the food people. I decided to ask them where the Liquigas riders were since one of them spoke English. He told me that they were on the other end, across the street, and that it wasn't that far of a walk. I showed him the picture that I had taken the night before (I had it printed up that morning....loooove 1 hour photo) and asked him if he thought the guys would mind signing it. He said that they would love it and that I should go over there. After that he rode off on his BIKE. Ummm, yeah, not far with a bike but walking? With my short legs it took a little while. Hehe.

Eventually I got over there and to my dismay, there was only one other team over there. Now, normally I'm fine with that but, well.....now I felt like a stalker. Because it was so out of the way there were only a few other people over there. I couldn't try and blend in with the other crazy fans because I was pretty much the only one. AWKWARD!!! OH yeah, and I don't speak Italian as I stated earlier. Well, I saw the guy that told me how to get there and he told me that he would translate for me and would help me out. His name was Rory and he was great. When I got there Jacopo and Da Ros were warming up for their ride while the rest of the team was still in the hotel. I got their signatures and then sat around waiting for the other guys to show up. So....for a little while I was the dork sitting there, like a stalker, waiting for photos and autographs. *sigh* Yep, dorkdom at its best. The Team guys were nice and offered me a chair and something to drink while I waited. Now, normally I am the most talkative person in the world. I will talk to anyone. Those of you that know me...stop laughing. Shhhhhh. SO...the talkative person was actually silent and a little shy since there were only a few people that spoke English and I didn't want to bother them. Eventually the rest of the team made it out there and I was able to get them to sign the pic. I also got to take a pic with Chicchi. YAY...the Man is a great sprinter. He had come in 3rd in the first two stages of the Tour and was currently in second place. Anyway, he warmed up for a little while and then got ready for the ride. Meanwhile, at one point, Rory left to get a Mountain Dew so...there I was, alone with Chicchi and no talking. Talk about Awkward. I would have loved to talk to him but... there was that whole language barrier thing. I also didn't want to take a lot of pics because it was a bit obvious since I was the only one there. I think I need to learn a bit of Italian if I want to hang out with Liquigas again. LOL Eventually Chicchi got ready to leave for his ride and Rory gave me a lift so that I didn't have to walk. He also invited me to sit in the team car behind Chicchi. WHAT? So....I was really tempted and would have loved to go but I get really carsick. The ride would have been on windy roads for around 45 minutes and then back down. I didn't think it would be nice of my to projectile over Rory's head as he drove. Seriously....really bummed that I missed out on that one. Chance of a lifetime and I blew it. I saw Chicchi as he was riding up to the ramp for his ride. He saw me and aimed his bike at me and he rode by and that was that. About 15 minutes later I watched him ride his TT and wished I was in that car. =(

I watched the rest of the Tour online on Justin.tv. They had a great feed and chatroom with alot of the same people each day. It was our own little online cycling fandom. I had a great time chatting and watching with them. The last day of the tour was GREAT! There was going to be a sprint finish and I was still pulling for Chicchi to win a stage. I had typed his name in bold letters when everyone was "pulling" for the rider they wanted to win. I was screaming and yelling when he crossed that line ahead of Cavendish. WAHOOOO AMAZING!!! Everyone figured Cavendish had it again since the guy is so stinking fast. So, when Chicchi crossed the line I was thrilled and told them that I called it. LOL That man has quads and those quads beat Cav!!! Also, Roman finished with the White jersey. What a great way to end the Tour.

I hope you enjoy the pics that I have in the slideshow. Some of the pics were taken by my new friend, Amy. She is from the boards and is friends with Debbie. Great gal! She was taking pics and writing a blog about the Tour. Thanks Amy!

Tour of Missouri 2007

I had a great time at the Tour of Missouri in 2007. Because I only had a few events the morning of the race, I was free to be a crazy cycling fan the rest of the day. So....after the Hughes Brothers sang the National Anthem, I was off to the Discovery Channel bus. Wahoooo.

Throughout the year I had kept in touch with a few friends on the Paceline Forum and was planning on meeting up with them at the Disco Bus. It was Discovery's last year and we wanted to make sure that we had a chance to get pictures and autographs. It was great to put a face to the names of the people that I met on the forums. Debbie also brought a Thank You banner for Johan ( the team manager), signed by people from the forum, to thank him for his work with the Discovery Team. I spent most of the day with Debbie at the bus in the HOT sun. We took plenty of pictures of the team and even got a pic taken with Johan. Wahooo. We also were given Discovery Channel water bottles to take home. I bought a Discovery t-shirt for autographs and had fun working on getting it signed.

Levi won the Time Trial and George was still in the yellow jersey. For those of you that don't follow cycling, they were both on the Discovery Team. YAY. So...off to the awards ceremony I went. I had a few things to do so I told Debbie that I would catch up with her later. On my way to the ceremony I was taking pictures with a friend on the TT ramp when someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around and was face to face with George and Levi. Ummmmm...uhhhh, hi? They wanted to know how to get to stage. I pointed them in the correct direction because apparently... I had lost all speaking ability. LOL However, my friend had my camera at the time and snapped a great picture of George as they took off. NOW, had I actually had control of my brain at the time, I would have asked for a picture with the both of them, but no...frozen solid and in shock. Yes, I realize, they are just people too but, well, you don't expect to turn around and see them face to face.

The ceremony went off wonderfully. The Branson Landing, where the event was held, is on the waterfront. It has a beautiful fountain, designed by the same people that did the fountain at the Mirage in Las Vegas. When Levi got his award the fire was shooting out of the columns and the fountains were going off. It looked very impressive. So, I'm standing at the rail with the t-shirt in my hand hoping to get Levi to sign my shirt, getting smushed between all of the other fans. All of a sudden, Levi walks off the podium and hands someone his flowers. This person proceeds to walk past everyone and then puts the flowers in my hand. Ummm, ok...SHOCK? AWE? So, I wound up with Levi's flowers to take home.

Needless to say. I had a blast at the Tour of Missouri. I got to meet a few friends and went home with some great souvenirs. I wasn't able to get all of my signatures on my shirt so Kelly, one of the Tour organisers, took the shirt with her and got the rest of it signed for me. I got it at our follow up meeting later that year. =)

OH, so as a sidenote. A lot of the riders made comments on how hard the TT course was and that it was one of the toughest that they had ever ridden. We didn't have the high mountains but the hills made it hard for them to get a good rhythm. Great job Craig and Dathan!

Tour of Missouri

So...I have been dying to blog about the Tour of Missouri but have been trying to figure out the best way to go about it. Do I start from the current day or do I start from the race last year? I wanted to write about how Chicchi crossed the finish line ahead of Cavendish yesterday but thought...hmmm, no one really knows where I am coming from. I'm thinking that there would be questions like...what is the Tour of Missouri? Who is Chicchi? Cavendish? So...like the Sound of Music says, "Let's start at the very beginning".

For those of you that don't know me, I am a HUGE cycling fan. I'm not quite sure when it started. I have always loved watching sports. I still remember watching football games with my brother and dad and my mom asking what a touchdown was. My love for sports grew over the years as I watched various sports on TV and attended games...OK, so I don't like watching bowling or golfing. Sorry, not my cup of tea.

Things changed when I got married. My schedule became a little strange because of the show schedule, and....ummm, well, Adam just doesn't watch sports on TV. I decided that I needed to pick one thing to follow and just go from there. My choice? The Tour de France! Adam knows that for three weeks , every July, I will be glued to the television. I will be waking up at 4 AM to watch riders climb L'Alpe D'Huez. I will be taping various stages when I miss a stage due to a show. The TV will always be tuned on to the Tour, even if I have already watched the stage, as background noise. I completely immerse myself in the Tour and make up for my lack of watching all year. Some may call me crazy. I like the term "dedicated".

A little over 2 years ago I found out that we were going to have a Tour of Missouri cycling race. (Picture the Tour de France but 1/3 the length and no killer mountains ). My first reaction? YES!!! I MUST be involved! I called up Craig, my friend that owns the only bike store in town, Downhill Bikes and asked if he knew anything about it. He told me to call Dathan to see if I could get involved. Dathan is the Chairman of the LOCs for the Branson leg of the race. I went to the next meeting with the Local Organizing Committees (LOC) and was basically told that I was now the Ancillary Events Chairman. Ummmm, ok.....ummmm, what exactly are ancillary events? I later found out that it was comprised of random events, school education and the health fair. Gee, is that all? SO....I went to the meetings and met a lot of wonderful people as we planned for the inaugural Tour of Missouri.

Branson was given the Time Trial for its leg of the race. Craig and Dathan made a killer course that showcased a lot of our Ozark hills. As for the events that were planned. We had a Bike Safety Rodeo for the younger kids the Saturday before the race. The day of the race we had a Celebrity Trike Race and the Hughes Brothers (WAHOOOOO) sang the National Anthem. They were told that it was the best Anthem that they had heard at a race! YES! We so ROCK! Of course there was the normal block party the night before and all of the events the day OF the event. I'll write about that in the next blog and will add pics. For more info on the Tour you can go to http://www.tourofmissouri.com/